Nerdist » justice league darkhttp://nerdist.com
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 18:15:04 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Movie Morsels: SUICIDE SQUAD and JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK Casting Rumors, PIRATES and More!http://nerdist.com/movie-morsels-suicide-squad-and-justice-league-dark-casting-rumors-pirates-of-the-caribbean-dead-men-tell-no-tales-and-crow-reboot-updates/
http://nerdist.com/movie-morsels-suicide-squad-and-justice-league-dark-casting-rumors-pirates-of-the-caribbean-dead-men-tell-no-tales-and-crow-reboot-updates/#commentsMon, 26 Jan 2015 14:00:49 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=221579Lest we forget, there’s more to super-team movies these days than Avengers: Age of Ultron and the Justice League precursor Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. For those who like their comic book heroes a little nastier, we’ve also got Suicide Squad and Justice League Dark to look forward to. Today, we look at the latest casting rumors for both films, as well as updates on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and the Crow reboot — and a teaser for Eli Roth’s Keanu Reeves-starring Knock Knock. Yes, the door to Movie Morsels is open. So step right in!

Fantastic Four

While we know very little official details about director Josh Trank’s forthcoming Fantastic Four reboot for FOX, the folks at Nerdist News managed to get an advance look at the superhero supergroup’s costumes. Sort of. You’ll see:

Justice League Dark

While we’ve been closely following progress on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the planned DC Cinematic Universe for which it will serve as cornerstone, Warner Bros. has continued to develop its long-discussed film devoted to the dark, supernatural side of the DCU: Justice League Dark. Guillermo del Toro is apparently still attached to the project, and now we hear a new rumor regarding which characters will comprise the team — Zatanna, Deadman, The Demon (a/k/a Jason Blood), and John Constantine. While Del Toro has said he’d be open to seeing Matt Ryan, the star of NBC’s Constantine series, play the occult investigator, your guess is as good as mine as to who could portray the other three DC mainstays. Please keep in mind that this, of course, is just a rumor. The ever-popular Swamp Thing‘s name has also been bandied about in past discussions of the film. Though unless the studio wants to invest in a massive amount of CG animation (or risk comparisons to the underwhelming ’80s Swamp Thing movies), it may decide to omit the muck-encrusted mockery of a man altogether. Then again, we all love Groot, don’t we?

And speaking of rumors concerning the dark side of the DC universe… The company’s villain-centric super-team movie Suicide Squad has lost two potential team leaders now, with both Tom Hardy and Jake Gyllenhaal declining to play Rick Flag. With shooting set to begin in the spring, the production is busily searching for another actor. The two current contenders? Word on the streets says it’ll come down to either Joel Edgerton or Jon Bernthal. The latter (pictured above) would be my top choice, as the former Walking Dead star has shown time and again that few current stars possess his ability to convey disgust whilst working on a team.

It looks like Relativity’s reboot of the The Crow is short one lead actor. The Hobbit star Luke Evans has left the project, leaving director Corin Hardy in search of someone else to play the supernatural antihero — first portrayed by the late Brandon Lee in the original 1994 Crow film (seen above) — again out for vengeance from those that murdered him. Crow comic creator James O’Barr is still on board as creative consultant.

Eli Roth’s latest has debuted to positive reviews at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and a teaser for Knock Knock has already arrived online. A remake of director Peter Traynor’s 1977 film Death Game, Knock Knock finds Keanu Reeves playing a family man left home alone one rainy night, who welcomes in two young women — played by Lorenza Izzo and Ana De Armas. To his eternal regret.

]]>http://nerdist.com/movie-morsels-suicide-squad-and-justice-league-dark-casting-rumors-pirates-of-the-caribbean-dead-men-tell-no-tales-and-crow-reboot-updates/feed/1Exclusive: JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #32 Previewhttp://nerdist.com/exclusive-justice-league-dark-32-preview/
http://nerdist.com/exclusive-justice-league-dark-32-preview/#commentsSun, 22 Jun 2014 19:00:34 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=160331While we still may be a ways away from a Guillermo Del Toro-directed Justice League Dark movie, there’s still plenty of reasons to get down with everyone’s favorite occult magic-using, supernatural menace-stopping superteam, the eponymous Justice League Dark. When we last left our fair heroes, they were fighting to save Zatanna’s soul in a dimension known as The Between. Nighmare Nurse sacrificed herself for the greater good, but will it all be for naught? Find out in our exclusive preview of J.M. DeMatteis, Andres Guinaldo, and Walden Wong’s Justice League Dark #32, coming to stores June 30 from DC Comics.

Here’s the official description:

Lost in the living dimension called The Between, the Justice League Dark fights to save Zatanna’s soul! Will Nightmare Nurse’s sacrifice save them all or damn them to an eternity of nothingness?

Click here to expand the thumbnails below.

Are you digging Justice League Dark? Will you be picking it up this week? Let us know in the comments below.

]]>http://nerdist.com/exclusive-justice-league-dark-32-preview/feed/1EXCLUSIVE: DC Goes MAD for Alfred E. Neuman’s Birthday with Variant Covershttp://nerdist.com/exclusive-dc-goes-mad-for-alfred-e-neumans-birthday-with-variant-covers/
http://nerdist.com/exclusive-dc-goes-mad-for-alfred-e-neumans-birthday-with-variant-covers/#commentsTue, 18 Mar 2014 15:00:13 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=123563As if DC’s Vintage Bombshell variant covers featuring the loveliest ladies of the DCU weren’t enough, DC is also celebrating Alfred E. Neuman’s birthday (April 1st, natch) in style with a slew of MAD Magazine-inspired covers from artists Sam Sisco, Paul Coker, Roberto Parada, Peter Bagge and more. What, you worry about your favorite superhero stories devolving into sophomoric pop culture parodies? Well, first of all, lighten up. Secondly, these are just variant covers, so you can put down your Mogo stress balls and just enjoy the nice bit of levity these covers inject into the New 52. Plus, for a sixty year-old ginger with Ross Perot-sized ears, Alfred is lookin’ pretty good. So, happy birthday to you, Alfred, and enjoy this exclusive sneak peek at four of the upcoming covers.

Superman #30 (Paul Coker)

Click to expand the thumbnails below.

And don’t forget to print this article out and fold it in on itself to see a secret message!

What do you think of these MAD Magazine-inspired variant covers? Let us know in the comments below.

]]>http://nerdist.com/exclusive-dc-goes-mad-for-alfred-e-neumans-birthday-with-variant-covers/feed/3Exclusive: JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #26 Previewhttp://nerdist.com/exclusive-justice-league-dark-26-preview/
http://nerdist.com/exclusive-justice-league-dark-26-preview/#commentsMon, 23 Dec 2013 16:01:49 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=103019You didn’t think that because most of Los Angeles has packed it in for the holidays that we’d leave you high and dry without another DC Comics exclusive for you, did you? You may have to wait until December 31st to pick up Justice League Dark #26, but we have an exclusive preview of the eldritch awesomeness contained therein.

At the mercy of the nefarious creature Blight, who feeds off of humanity’s darkest impulses, it seems like all is lost for our band of mystic misfits. Or is it? Read on and see how Constantine and the crew cheat death. Unfortunately, as they’ll soon find out, they’ve escaped the frying pan only to find a world on fire.

Here’s the official solicit text:

A FOREVER EVIL tie-in! The Crime Syndicate’s Sea King, last seen at the end of “Trinity War,” has cheated death and plagues the JL Dark team!

—

Justice League Dark #26 hits stands on December 31st. What do you think? Are you digging the series? Let us know in the comments below.

]]>http://nerdist.com/exclusive-justice-league-dark-26-preview/feed/2Comic Book Day: Ivan Reis Launches “Trinity War”‘s Opening Salvohttp://nerdist.com/comic-book-day-ivan-reis-launches-trinity-wars-opening-salvo/
http://nerdist.com/comic-book-day-ivan-reis-launches-trinity-wars-opening-salvo/#commentsTue, 09 Jul 2013 00:00:16 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=81754Unless your hometown has been shrunken to minuscule proportions by Brainiac and stored in a makeshift terrarium, you must be aware that “Trinity War”, DC’s epic summer slufgest featuring all three Justice League teams, kicks off in earnest this coming Wednesday with part 1 in Justice League #22. We’ve already spoken with writers Geoff Johns and Jeff Lemire about what to expect, and artist Doug Mahnke about bringing it to life, and now we’re talking to artist extraordinaire Ivan Reis about taking the colossal comic from concept to reality.

Nerdist: You had a dynamite run on Aquaman, then moved to a larger team book like Justice League. How did that compare? Was it more challenging?

Ivan Reis: Thanks. It’s always a bigger challenge when you take over a group book, especially if the group is formed by the Earth’s coolest heroes. I think that the biggest challenge, though, is to handle the pressure to make them work together, visually speaking, and keep the book as popular as it’s always been.

N: Did your work on Justice League prepare you for a massive crossover event like “Trinity War”?

IR: Well, all of us, the whole art team (me, Joe Prado and Rod Reis) started out on Justice League on a big crossover, not as big as Trinity War, but big and important. It was a great warm-up for all of us.

N: That giant 3-team spread you did for the “Trinity War” teasers is magnificent. Tell us about your process when tackling a massive piece like that.

IR: Thanks a lot! It was really fun and gratifying to work on that triple-cover. My biggest concern and challenge was to find the right layout for it to work as a whole, as well as 3 separated covers, each one focusing on the main characters of each of the 3 Justice League books. The outcome was amazing, and Joe (Prado) and Rod (Reis) helped a LOT.

N: Tell us a bit about “Trinity War” and what we can expect. Did you have a favorite fight or character pairing to draw?

IR: SHAZAM vs. SUPERMAN! This is one of the fights that I loved to draw the most EVER! The first chapter of “Trinity War” is very intense and full of special moments, but, hey! You’ll have to read the book to find out the specifics!

N: Ugh, but we want to know now! Many of our readers are aspiring artists themselves. What’s something that you know now that you wish you knew when you were first starting out?

IR: Work in comics is no easy task, and demands a LOT of your time and dedication. A whole life worth of learning. But the secret is to draw like a professional, but enjoy the whole thing as a FAN!

N: What comics are you reading an enjoying right now?

IR: Ah! Time is short for me these days! I’m totally dedicated to Justice League and Trinity War, but always a manage to find a little time to catch-up on my reading pile, but more as a study form, you know?

—

“Trinity War” kicks off in earnest with Part 1 in Wednesday’s Ivan Reis-illustrated Justice League #22. Keep up with all the mayhem on DC’s handy checklist and let us know in the comments below

]]>http://nerdist.com/comic-book-day-ivan-reis-launches-trinity-wars-opening-salvo/feed/1Comic Book Day: Preparing for “Trinity War” with Geoff Johns and Jeff Lemirehttp://nerdist.com/comic-book-day-preparing-for-trinity-war-with-geoff-johns-and-jeff-lemire/
http://nerdist.com/comic-book-day-preparing-for-trinity-war-with-geoff-johns-and-jeff-lemire/#commentsWed, 01 May 2013 13:00:48 +0000http://www.nerdist.com/?p=73918Since the inception of DC’s New 52 Universe, we have slowly, but surely been building towards one massive, catastrophic event: Trinity War. Since its reveal on last year’s Free Comic Book Day, readers have speculated what exactly could prompt some of the DCU’s biggest heroes to take up arms against one another. Revolving around the Trinity of Sin – Pandora, The Question and the Phantom Stranger – Trinity War will pit the Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark against one another in an action-murder-mystery that will shake the DCU to its core. Although we have to wait until July for the six issue series to kick off, I was able to catch up with the event’s architects, Geoff Johns and Jeff Lemire, who gave us the inside scoop on what to expect, unexpected team-ups and battles, and who their favorite character to write was. So, brace yourselves because if the above artwork by Ivan Reis is any indication, Trinity War is going to be a bumpy ride.

Nerdist: Trinity War – we’re very excited for it. Is this basically the biggest PSA against inter-office relationships? What can we expect from this massive event?

Geoff Johns: Well, that’s pretty close. [laughs] I don’t know if you’ve seen the image out there, the covers for the first three parts that Ivan [Reis] did of all the heroes at war. Ivan and Joe [Prado] really did a great job on it. It sells an idea of obvious conflict between the three Justice Leagues, but when Geoff and I first tackled this story, we really wanted to make it, on first glance, hero vs. hero – and that’s definitely in there – but it’s also very philosophical. The story is so action-driven, but there’s a mystery there too. There’s kind of a controversial death that happens in issue one; it’s the death and the circumstances around it that kicks off the mystery, pitting the teams against each other and eventually the team members themselves. You know, kind of choosing different sides for a specific reason. When Geoff and I got together, we really wanted to focus on the mystery element, because I think we have a lot of great reveals we’ve planted in the books for some time now. In particular, Jeff’s issues really feed into that. I wish we could talk about it more. In the first issue, something happens that really defines what the story’s going to be about, but without spoiling it, it’s a little hard to get specific.

N: So this death is the primary catalyst that sends the DCU into all-out war?

GJ: Yeah, it’s definitely a catalyst for what that battle is. I think Trinity War as a title is a little misleading too because it isn’t just about these three Justice Leagues; there’s the Trinity of Sin, these three mysterious characters, and the answer to what the Trinity actually is and what the Trinity actually means will come out as well.

N: Let’s talk about the Trinity of Sin – Pandora, The Phantom and The Question. From their names alone, they ooze mystery. What’s the appeal of these characters such a major part of the story?

GJ: Well, Jeff, I think you can talk about The Question…

Jeff Lemire: The Question embodies mystery – it’s who he is. Like Jeff said, the story really is a big murder mystery, so he exemplifies that aspect of the story. The idea of the three Leagues, the Trinity, it’s sort of this underlying thing we’ve structured the whole story around. Each of those characters in the Trinity of Sin represents one aspect of the story that will unfold. You know, Phantom Stranger and Pandora have been seen quite a bit now, but The Question, he’s still a mystery – who he is, what he is, what his motivations are – so this is kind of his coming out party. He plays a pretty major role.

GJ: We’re taking kind of a cue from the animated series where he’s really bound in conspiracies and stuff, but this is a bigger one. The questions in his mind that kind of haunt him are things that he has to answer. He’ll be front and center at the mystery of it all.

N: Without spoiling anything, can you give us a hint of some of the superpowered slugfests we can look forward to?

GJ: I don’t know if you’ve read Justice League of America, but the team has been designed specifically to take on the Justice League, so some of those battles will come into play. Like Hawkman vs. Aquaman, Katana vs. Wonder Woman, and you’ll see Shazam take on Superman, which I always think is a lot of fun. Especially this Billy Batson/Shazam that’s more willing to throw the hardest punch he can to see what happens. You’ll see lots of confrontations; I mean, on the cover, you can see Wonder Woman with her lasso around Constantine’s neck, which has got to be the worst thing to ever happen to him. [laughs] So, there’ll be a lot of confrontations that you’ll see, and a lot of team-ups too. There are lots of characters doing a big Justice League event that’s specific to the teams. You’ll see these characters confront one another, team up, and figure out why they need to team up. Some of these groups don’t necessarily stay together; in fact, they don’t come out the same way they came in.

JL: As much as it is about heroes fighting one another, it’s also about seeing unexpected friendships develop, which is cool.

N: Speaking of unexpected friendships, who has been your favorite character to thrust into the spotlight that you didn’t anticipate going in?

GJ: For me, I’ve got to say – and I didn’t expect this at all – but I think Madame Xanadu. She’s actually the first character; I open up with her, and I wound up really, really liking her. She’s kind of an obscure character, but I really enjoyed writing her, and then, on the Justice League side, I find Superman and Batman are always a blast. Superman, in particular, especially with what happens throughout the issues of this storyline – he’s been the most fun to write.

JL: I’m surprised at how big of a role Madame Xanadu wound up taking in the actual story. That wasn’t something that we’d initially planned on. It came about in the scripting stage, which is cool. For me, I’m writing Green Arrow now, his solo book, and I was kind of surprised how fun it was to write that same character in a group setting, y’know, these group scenes.

N: Writing for one Justice League must be challenging enough, but what sort of challenges are involved in constructing and managing a massive event like this with three of the biggest teams in the DCU?

GJ: There’s a lot of challenges. I don’t think Jeff and I can give enough credit to the artists we’re working with on this – Ivan, Doug [Mahnke], and Mikel [Janin]. You can see that cover that Ivan did. We’re trying to tell the biggest story we can with all these characters, but without them, this story wouldn’t work. I think the challenges are that you have thirty characters here, and that’s a lot of characters. You want to keep the scope big, you want to see these characters team up. It’s really fun to see, but at the same time, there’s got to be an emotional core to the story. And that’s really the focus: who’s story is it? What is it all about? When Jeff and I sat down to hash it out, we said the laser is going to come in on these characters and this is the emotional through-line, this is what it’s all about. There’s a lot of characters and plot to juggle.

JL: The sheer choreography of all the characters throughout the issues itself can be a challenge. As a writer, you want to keep it lively, but also keep it personal and character-driven.

N: From more of a logistical standpoint, this will be a six issue series, but will it be its own separate Trinity War book or spread across the Justice League books?

GJ: It will just be in Justice League, Justice League of America and Justice League Dark, so six issues in July and August in the Justice League titles. We wanted to focus on the teams, define the teams and redefine them. Something is going to happen at the end that’s going to blow up a lot of stuff and change the layout. I think we’re going to be talking about it soon, but specifically in these three Justice League titles.

N: I’m sure it will have a pretty big impact on the DCU as a whole, but will there be tie-in books too in other titles?

GJ: There’s a couple books that have tie-ins. You don’t have to read them to get the whole story. There’s Constantine #5 in July that’s a Constantine/Shazam team-up that sort of spins out of what’s going on in Trinity War. It’s a really great story by Ray Fawkes. You’ve got Billy Batson who’s street smart and John Constantine who’s also… street smart – seeing how those two guys work together… I don’t know if you’ve read the Shazam stuff, but he’s different than past iterations.

N: He seems a little bit more contentious than the Billy Batsons we’ve seen in the past.

GJ: Yeah, he’s a good-hearted kid, but he’s got a chip on his shoulder. He doesn’t trust adults, so Constantine is probably the most distrusting person there is. It’s always fun to see them together. I think Ray did a great job. Then there’s Phantom Stranger #11 from [J.M.] DeMatteis and Pandora, also by Ray, which are going to have tie-ins as well. We’ll also finally answer what the hell is in that box and what that box is all about!

So, there you have it, friends. It looks like Trinity War is going to leave a trail of bodies and questions in its wake. What are you hoping to see happen once it drops in July? Let us know in the comments below.